Seared Tortellini with Brown Butter and Sage
Tortellini pan-seared until golden, then tossed in a nutty brown butter sauce with crisp sage and parmesan. A fast, savory one-pan dinner.
- Total
- 17 min
- Prep 3 · Cook 14
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Pan-frying
- Savory
- Quick
- Italian
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Bring 1.5 l water to a rolling boil in a large pot over high heat.
~4 min
-
While step 1 cooks
While the water heats, grate 20 g parmesan and pick 6 sage leaves.
~3 min
-
Add 150 g tortellini to the boiling water and cook until they float and are tender, about 4 minutes. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
~4 min
Cooking until they float signals the filling is hot and the pasta is tender.
-
Melt 30 g butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and fry until crisp, about 1 minute, then lift them out and set aside.
~1 min
Frying sage in butter crisps the leaves and infuses the butter with sage flavor.
Pan-frying Fry sage leaves in hot butter for about 1 minute until crisp and slightly darkened. Remove immediately to avoid burning, which turns them bitter.
-
Raise the heat to medium-high, add the drained tortellini in a single layer and sear undisturbed until golden and lightly crisp on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn and sear the second side, about 2 minutes.
~5 min
Searing in a single layer creates a golden crust through Maillard browning.
Pat the tortellini dry before searing; surface moisture steams them and blocks the golden crust.
Searing Pat the tortellini completely dry and sear undisturbed in a single layer over medium-high heat. Wait for a deep golden crust before turning; moving too early prevents browning.
-
Reduce the heat to low, season with 0.5 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper, and toss the tortellini in the browned butter to coat. Top with the crisp sage and grated parmesan and serve.
~1 min
Tossing in browned butter coats the tortellini and distributes the nutty flavor.